Proton VPN Free review

Proton VPN is a mainstay in pretty much most, if not all, of our best VPN lists. It was launched in 2014 by a group of scientists that met at CERN, and it's based in Switzerland.

The company's main ethos is that "privacy is a human right," reflected by the fact that Proton continues to offer a free VPN service alongside its paid plan – something only a handful of VPNs do. Aside from the privacy-focused VPN service, Proton is also known for its secure mail service, Proton Mail, and a few other related products.

After a hefty update that made a few changes to the way Proton VPN Free works, there are more limitations to contend with, and it has a big problem which significantly holds it back from being our #1 free VPN.

However, it's still one of the best free VPNs and does the basics very well – namely providing you with secure and private internet access. Let's dig into the details.

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Proton VPN on paper

Proton VPN Free: recent updates

In Proton VPN's 2026 roadmap, the privacy firm outlined some key areas it intends to improve – some of which may also affect the free plan.

The biggest of these is a rebuild of the WireGuard codebase. WireGuard is Proton VPN's main encryption protocol, which is the tech that protects and transfers your data around the world. In short, the rebuild should improve speeds, and will also lay the groundwork for the implementation of post-quantum encryption. A new Linux app is also in development.

We can presume with some confidence that these protocol changes will also affect in the free plan. Unlike some VPNs, Proton VPN typically doesn't withhold privacy features like a kill switch and specialist protocols from its free users, instead preferring to restrict non-essential quality of life features like split tunneling and most server locations.

Proton VPN Free: features

One of the most impressive things about Proton as a company is that the free version of its VPN continuously includes numerous features that other companies reserve for their paid versions, making it one of the best free VPNs on the market.

For instance, you get a fully operational kill switch, which will keep your data safe if your VPN connection drops. If you never want to be without a VPN connection, make sure this feature is turned on.

You can make use of the WireGuard protocol, as well as Proton VPN's own Stealth protocol. WireGuard is responsible for your fast connection speeds, while Stealth is designed to keep you safe when accessing the internet.

It obfuscates (disguises) your VPN connection, hiding the fact you're connected to a VPN. Stealth protocol is one of Proton VPN's numerous anti-censorship features and can help bypass internet restrictions.

Proton VPN's audited no-logs policy extends to its free service, so you can rest assured that the company does not log your data. The premium VPN is one of the most private VPNs out there and the same class-leading privacy is adopted for the free version.

Users also have access to Proton VPN's quality customer support. However, you don't get access to its live chat – something reserved for premium subscribers.

There are sacrifices however. Spilt tunneling, NetShield threat protection, Secure Core servers, and port forwarding are all reserved for premium subscribers. There is also no streaming support, and Proton don't shy away from explaining this.

While these are great features, they're not VPN necessities. They're also not expected to be seen included with free VPNs These necessities are what Proton VPN Free focuses on – and does very well.

The company claims it offers unlimited monthly data for free plan users, but we noticed slower speeds after exceeding 1 GB of download.

No cap is a great feature, and something not many free providers offer. You don't need to worry about running out of data and can freely use your VPN.

Slower speeds are unfortunate and something we'd prefer to change. However your VPN will still work – albeit slowly.

The VPN does work on a variety of devices, including Linux, Mac, PC, and smartphones with both Android and iOS operating systems. You can only connect one device at a time, though.

Proton VPN advertises 10 free server locations (US, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, Poland, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, and Mexico), you don't get to choose the country you need. The app selects the best location for you automatically.

It makes sense that the company reserves the full gamut of server locations and other perks like ad blockers and malware protection for paying customers. Overall, you do get sufficient features in the free plan considering it was meant for recreational/occasional users.

Score: 7/10

Proton VPN Free: server network

Proton VPN doesn't officially disclose the number of individual servers available for free users to connect to, but it's estimated to be 2,000. The more important figure is how many countries the free plan offers: 10.

When you click "Connect," you will automatically be connected to a server in the US, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, Poland, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, or Mexico.

This is a considerable upgrade on the five it previously offered and extra locations in Asia and North America are welcome.

If you don't get the country you need, there's no way to manually select which server to use. Instead, you must hit "Change Location" for another try. If you don't get the country you want the second time around, you'll need to wait at least 90 seconds before you can "re-roll" your server, and after some intensive testing, on one occasion we were made to wait almost 20 minutes to switch.

This removal of choice, is Proton VPN Free's biggest drawback, and will be a dealbreaker for some prospective users.

Those who just want a secure internet connection, and don't mind where, won't see this as an issue. However, we'd expect the majority of users will want to select their server and will be frustrated to find they can't.

Its free VPN competitors, Windscribe Free and PrivadoVPN Free, offer servers in 11 and 10 countries respectively. The server update sees it match its competitors in both countries offered and their spread.

However, Windscribe Free and PrivadoVPN Free allow you to select which server you want to connect to. Out of the big free VPN hitters, Proton VPN Free lags behind in this area.

Score: 5/10

Proton VPN Free: pricing and plans

Proton VPN Free is available free of charge, with all of the features mentioned above. However, compared to the company's flagship subscription models/plans (dubbed Proton Plus and Proton Unlimited), the free version's limitations become starkly evident. You can read more about the paid plans in our Proton VPN full review.

The two-year Proton VPN plan works out at $2.99 per month ($71.76 up front). Upgrading to the premium plan unlocks 10 simultaneous connections, streaming support, and Proton says its fastest 10 Gbps servers are reserved for paying users. You'll also get features like NetShield threat protection, port forwarding, and split tunneling

If you enjoy the Proton ecosystem, you can subscribe to Proton Unlimited for $9.09 per month ($109.12 upfront). This grants you access to premium versions of Proton Mail, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, Proton Calendar, and Proton Wallet. Free versions are also available for all these apps.

Score: 9/10

Proton VPN Free: ease of use

Proton VPN's free apps are generally easy to understand, and the default settings are enough for you to start using it right away. From the moment you download and login, it's clear that the service was designed to not overwhelm you with a huge amount of options on the surface.

The Proton VPN Android, Windows, and iOS apps have all undergone a major redesign which has greatly improved its ease of use. Proton VPN Free was never too complicated to use, but its map-based home screen was a little clunky.

Things are a lot cleaner now and you can still interact with the map on desktop devices. The country you're connected to will be shown, and the whole set up is quite aesthetically pleasing.

The redesign hasn't launched on Linux or Mac yet, so the old map-based UI remains in place. The layout of the home screen is different, with the connection information on the left hand side. The settings and features remain the same, they just might be in a slightly different location.

It's worth remembering that you can only use Proton VPN Free on one device at a time. So if you have the app downloaded on multiple devices, ensure you're disconnected on the device(s) you're not using.

Your ease of use is going to be affected by Proton VPN Free's server predicament. You might be lucky in connecting to your desired server on the first or second attempt. However going round in circles, connecting and re-connecting, before you can begin using the VPN isn't an ideal user experience.

Everything you need is easily accessible from the home screen, with the map and connection button located slap bang in the middle. Key settings such as kill switch, split tunneling, NetShield, and port forwarding have shortcuts on the right hand side – although kill switch is the only one of these usable in Proton VPN Free.

If you go to Settings, additional functions and protections are available for those looking to play around a bit, and each setting provides more information to explain what it does in more detail. However, as I mentioned above, you have excellent protection with the default settings from the get-go, even if you don't understand what the other features do and don't care to explore them.

Score: 7/10

Proton VPN Free: apps

Proton VPN Free is available across all major platforms, including Android, iPhone/iPad, Windows, MacOS, Chrome, Firefox, Linux, Chromebook, and Firefox.

As mentioned, Proton VPN's apps have had a satisfying re-design. The mobile apps are slightly less intuitive thanks to the lack of map interaction, but this isn't a problem.

A static outline of the country you're connected to will be shown on the home screen, with the same connect/disconnect button, along with the settings tabs underneath.

Guest Mode – where no Proton account is needed – is a helpful privacy-focused feature currently available on Android, and it's due on iOS and iPadOS soon. You don't need to provide an email address, resulting in increased privacy for those that need and want it.

Android users using the app in countries where VPNs are banned or highly restricted can also disguise the app thanks to the discreet icon feature.

All apps are very intuitive to use, it's easy to toggle between all the features you need, and most importantly, the mobile apps have the same look and feel as their desktop counterparts.

Android Proton VPN free users continue to have a slight advantage over iOS users for several reasons. Firstly, Android users have DNS leak protection – particularly helpful since cell phones tend to connect to open and unprotected networks as you roam about town, making you more vulnerable to sneaks and hackers.

The Trusted Networks feature is now also available on Android, where you can tell the app not to connect when you're using a known safe network. Lastly, the Android app has recently gained Pause VPN support, allowing users to turn off protection for a fixed amount of time before it automatically resumes.

Score: 8/10

Proton VPN Free: unblocking

Proton VPN's limited server selection really hinders it when it comes to unblocking specific content. For example, even though Proton VPN does have servers available in Japan, there's no guarantee you'll connect to one. In turn, whether or not it works for unblocking content is almost irrelevant.

And that's a bit of a shame. In a previous round of testing, Proton VPN was able to unblock US Netflix – but this time round, I was never even connected to a US server to test this out. However, I was connected to a Canada server at one point, and it was able to unblock Canadian Netflix with no issues.

PrivadoVPN Free and Windscribe Free are both better for unblocking streaming sites. Neither is perfect, but they're head and shoulders above Proton VPN Free in this department.

However, should you choose to upgrade to a paid Proton VPN subscription, you'll have access to all of the streaming services above, and one of the best streaming VPNs.

Additionally, torrenting is not supported by Proton VPN Free, so if you want one of the best torrenting VPNs, you're better off exploring alternative plans if this is a significant consideration for you.

Score: 2/10

Proton VPN Free: Speed and performance

For all tests we use the same Windows set up and 10 Gbps Ethernet-based connection. Speeds are measured with the VPN on and off, with five speed tests conducted – we then take the median average.

We use at least three separate speed testing sites and connect to both US and UK servers. For reference, 25 Mbps is the minimum needed to stream Netflix.

In our latest round of testing, we discovered that Proton VPN Free has drastically improved – up to 1,009 Mbps, from 339 Mbps.

Proton VPN's premium plan is faster still at 1,475 Mbps. However, the free plan recorded similar average speeds as big names Surfshark (1,021 Mbps) and Norton VPN (1,010 Mbps). In short, this is very impressive.

But the biggest news is that Windscribe's free plan outstripped almost every other VPN in our testing – free or paid. Averaging a rapid 1,594 Mbps, it's much faster than both Proton VPN Free and PrivadoVPN Free (968 Mbps), and even outpaces Proton VPN's paid plan. You can read more about those results in our Windscribe Free review.

It's worth noting that Proton VPN Free's speeds slowed after a few rounds of our data-intensive testing process – all the way down to around 8 Mbps.

After waiting a while, we saw speeds return to around 1,000 Mbps, but this shows that we were likely being throttled for using "too much" data. So, although there's no fixed data limit, this is a VPN for regular browsing and not heavy downloading, and no match for the fastest VPNs.

Score: 7/10

Proton VPN Free: privacy and security

Proton VPN has very strong privacy credentials. It's based in Switzerland, so user data is protected by the country's robust privacy laws. In 2024, it completed a third audit of its no-logs policy. Proton's kill switch also proved effective during our testing.

It has made campaigning for a free and open internet its mission and is taking the fight to internet censorship. 4.8 billion people were affected by internet censorship in 2024 and Proton VPN is one of many VPN providers aiming to change this for the better.

The Stealth protocol provides an added layer of security and privacy to browsing the web. Its obfuscation technology is vital for those that need to avoid VPN detection.

The protocol can be easily accessed. Simply head to settings, click Protocol, and select Stealth. You can also switch between UDP, TCP, WireGuard, and OpenVPN in this tab.

However, you don't get any malware or phishing protection included in the free version, called "NetShield" in the Proton VPN app. It's worth noting that NetShield didn't perform that well in our testing. So, regardless of which Proton VPN plan you're on, you're better off with some of the best antivirus software.

Proton VPN shares Transparency Reports, where it details the legal requests it has received. Results are strong and consistent with its no-logs policy, but we'd prefer if the provider shared more details of the requests.

For instance, its 2025 data says "Total Orders: 11," "Denied Orders: 11," and told us nothing else.

That said, highlighting that no data has been released is the key purpose of a Transparency Report, and Proton VPN does well to keep users in the loop and provide updates when required.

Score: 9/10

Proton VPN Free: track record

On the whole, Proton are a very transparent company, that consistently do what's best for users.

It champions internet freedoms and online privacy, and has been a very active campaigner in this area over the last few years.

It has strong values and won't let these become compromised. For example, Proton CEO Andy Yen has said Proton would rather leave Switzerland than comply with its controversial proposed encryption law.

As mentioned above, it completed its third independent no-logs audit in 2024 and its code is open source, meaning anyone can inspect it.

One of the things I'd liked to see is more transparency regarding data throttling after downloading approximately 1 GB of data.

Proton should publish these rules and make it clear what they are, instead of claiming to be "unlimited free" on the website and then sneak in restrictions like this through the back door.

The other thing I'm keen on seeing the company improve is the level of detail in its Transparency Report. Even though it does fulfill the basic requirements, I'd love to see a more comprehensive level of reporting any and all developments in this area.

Score: 8/10

Proton VPN Free: Customer support

Proton VPN Free has a contact form, email and support pages available for users who experience issues. The guides published on the Proton VPN website are clear and easy to follow. They cover an array of problems and many people will be able to solve their queries from this page alone.

You can contact Proton VPN's customer service team via contact form, with the option to note down your query in detail.

VPNs aren't perfect. They're complex pieces of software and aren't immune to technical hiccups. Having an effective customer support goes a long way to reducing the impact of these problems and Proton VPN is largely very good.

The biggest shortcoming in terms of customer support is the absence of the live chat feature. This is only available to Proton VPN premium subscribers and therefore locked for those on the free plan.

When we got in touch with that, we found the live chat support agents to be very helpful. It's unfortunate that Proton VPN Free users can't access them.

Score: 6/10

Proton VPN: Final verdict

If you're a recreational user who mostly needs a VPN for checking your email, browsing the internet, or bypassing censorship, then this service is perfect for you.

It's true that this provider hasn't been improving its free plan nearly as much as close competitors like PrivadoVPN Free or Windscribe, but that doesn't make it a bad choice. It does the basics incredibly well and provides you with a rock-solid free VPN.

If you can cope with not choosing your server then you'll have no problems with Proton VPN Free. If choosing your own server is a dealbreaker, then it won't be for you.

For a small fee, you can kick things up a notch and get the full suite of VPN services with Proton Plus and Unlimited, but even if you stick with the free plan, you should confidently stay safe and anonymous online.

Final score: 68/100